Soybean growers urge Congress to press Administration to end tariffs Talks are good, purchases are good, but lifting the tariff that China imposed last July on soybean imports from the United States is the only way for U.S. soybean farmers to regain commercial access to the significant Chinese market. “It is heartening that the Administration is keeping soybeans in the …
NCBA Announces Campaign for “Fake Meat Facts”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) launched a new campaign highlighting critical questions about the production of lab-grown fake meat. The Fake Meat Facts campaign will shine a spotlight on the many unknowns that the federal government must clarify before finalizing the regulatory framework for these emerging products. “The federal government is moving in the right direction on lab-grown fake meat oversight, …
U.S. Dairy Industry Supports Changes to Section 232 Process
The U.S. dairy industry endorsed bipartisan, bicameral legislation to reform a powerful White House trade tool to ensure it is used as intended by Congress to respond to genuine national security threats. Rolling back current retaliatory tariffs and keeping others from forming in the future is the dairy industry’s top trade priority. America currently sends 16 percent of its dairy …
Commissioner Nikki Fried Appoints Holly Bell as Director of Cannabis
Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried announced her appointment of Holly Bell as the Director of Cannabis. Bell’s selection comes after a national search and interviews with multiple finalists for the position. In her role as Director of Cannabis, Bell will oversee the development of rules, work directly with scientific experts, and ensure Commissioner Fried’s vision for cannabis in Florida continues moving forward and now sells more and …
Industrial hemp a featured topic at UF/IFAS ag policy conference Feb. 26 in Balm
Industrial hemp may soon be a financially significant crop in Florida, and an expert with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will discuss some of the challenges and opportunities related to this fledgling industry at the fourth annual Florida Agricultural Policy Outlook Conference in Balm. The conference happens 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26 …
USDA Launches High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity Resource Guide
Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new toolkit to help support the deployment of high-speed broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities. “High-speed broadband e-Connectivity is becoming more and more essential to doing business, delivering health care, and, for schoolchildren, doing homework in rural communities,” Hazlett said. “This …
Signup Batching Deadline for EQIP in Alabama
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Alabama wants to remind producers the signup batching deadline for Fiscal Year 2019 funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and initiatives offered through the program is April 25, 2019. This EQIP signup includes wildlife, forestry, cropland erosion, cropland irrigation, grazing land, and water quality concerns. National and Statewide initiatives also included …
Farmer Sentiment Improves in January
Farmers had more optimism about the agriculture economy in January than they had in previous months. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have concerns. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer says one of their biggest worries is farmland values. The January reading of 143 was a 16-point jump over December. The survey was the first opportunity to measure how …
Better Days Coming for Chicken Producers
Chicken, pork, and beef producers should all see better days over the next 12 months in spite of specific challenges in each segment. The industry website Meating Place Dot Com notes one industry analyst, Jeremy Scott of Mizuho Securities, who says the worst is behind us in the chicken market. That specific market segment had one of its most difficult …
Farm Bureau to USDA: New Regulations Must Protect Both Farmland and Wetland
As the Agriculture Department moves forward with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations, the department must ensure its new Interim Rule balances the benefits for both farmland and wetland, as Congress intended, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. As it was written, the Interim Rule makes program participation much more difficult and fails to give famers the opportunity …